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In fact, the first practice at the new Toronto Rock Athletic Complex yesterday looked more like a mid-season session than the first day of training camp.

"Seems like we weren't away at all," veteran forward Colin Doyle said. "Except in the morning it will hurt a little more."

"It was a good tempo. Exactly what you want in a first practice."

The Rock opened its new Oakville facility earlier this fall, finally giving the 15-year-old franchise a permanent home, something no other National Lacrosse League franchise has. And despite the tough practice, the players love it.

"This is pretty special," Doyle said. "I hope some of the guys in their first year don't think it's like this everywhere else."

"It's little things like having our own dressing room where we can leave our stuff. It's nice to see our logo on the door. It's our home. (Owner Jamie Dawick) has done a tremendous job."

It also allowed coach Troy Cordingley to get an early start in preparing his team for the season.

"These guys have been working extremely hard," he said. "They came into this facility and took advantage of the weight room."

"We met with each individual player about eight weeks ago and told them what they were up against. And they have come here in very good shape."

What they're up against is a league with tremendous parity. The Rock began the 2012 season showing some inconsistency, put together a nice stretch of games in the middle of the campaign, then showed signs of slowing down, culminating in a 17-13 loss to the eventual champion Rochester Knighthawks in the eastern division final.

"We feel that we blew an opportunity last year," Cordingley said. "We don't take that lightly."

"But this year is a new opportunity and we have to be as hungry as we were the two seasons prior."

One thing the Rock addressed during the off-season was size, drafting six-foot-three defender Bradley Kri and six-footer Mike Lum-Walker with their first two picks in the draft and adding former Buffalo Bandits captain Chris White. They bolstered their offence as well with the signing of Scott Evans, formerly of the Edmonton Rush.

"They felt we were a bit small," Doyle said. "They addressed that through the draft. They brought in some big bodies."

Doyle, 35, along with Josh Sanderson, also 35, are the senior members of the team with 15 years in the league each. Phil Sanderson has 13 years in him while several other players on the team also have logged a lot of miles on NLL floors.

The team is trying to bring in some youth but the captain knows no one should take their position on the team for granted at training camp.

"They're going to give everyone a month," Doyle said. "In the end, they're going to give the best man the job, young or old, big or small."